The air was heavy with smoke. Orange light sifted through the trees on a chilly October night. With Halloween just around the corner, the atmosphere was a perfect setting for the Tiger Lillies and Kronos Quartet to present their collaboration in honor of writer and illustrator Edward Gorey.
The evening started with solo performances from both groups, and the majesty of the Kronos Quartet was a welcome way to begin before the dark humor of the Tiger Lillies overtook the stage.
Continuing to establish themselves as one of the foremost classical groups in the world, the Quartet showed off their dynamic range by playing pieces like bluesman Blind Willie Jefferson’s “Dark Was The Night,” Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros’ “Flugufrelsarinn,” and even Indian film score music.
A short intermission followed the Tiger Lillies’ abbreviated set, and soon both groups returned to the stage to perform “The Gorey End” in its entirety.
With the quartet brightly playing along, the Tiger Lillies received their first laughs of the evening during “ABC” as their drummer flipped through posters from Gorey’s “Gashlycrumb Tinies” while Martyn Jacques sang gleefully the gruesome couplets about death for each letter.
Death permeates the Gorey End song cycle, with fresh characters dying hilariously macabre deaths by the end of nearly every lyric. Like a grim reaper’s Dr. Seuss, Gorey’s words found life in Jacques’ capable voice.
The performance finished with a one-song encore and a large ovation. With their obsession with bizarre deaths and strange circumstances, the Tiger Lillies and Gorey himself are not everyone’s cup of tea. However, in these troubled times, a little humor never hurt anyone.
The concert’s highlight was the set’s closing performance of a song about fire, when Jacques said matter-of-factly, “I like burning houses down, and the factories as well. I like burning anything!” The crowd cheered wildly as the band exploded a yowling chorus of “Fire! Fire!” but the irony was lost on no one.
All one had to do was step outside during intermission and breathe in the smoky night air, and be thankful the Tiger Lillies were here to make it okay to laugh again.
- David Greenwald